The Buzz: February 17, 2003

The Computer & Communications Industry Association has filed a complaint with the European Commission claiming that Microsoft has violated European Union antitrust laws with Windows XP.

Trustbusters Take Case to Europe
Having been rebuffed in U.S. courts, the Computer & Communications Industry Association has filed a complaint with the European Commission claiming that Microsoft has violated European Union antitrust laws with Windows XP.

The CCIA alleges that Microsoft uses its dominance in PC operating systems, browsers and office applications to unfairly push into new markets, such as audio and video streaming, e-mail, instant messaging, server operating systems, Web services, and authentication services.

Many of the issues raised in the EU case mirror a case against Microsoft in U.S. courts. A federal judge last year denied the CCIAs request to intervene in that case.
CCIA members include Microsoft rivals such as Sun Microsystems, AOL Time Warner and Oracle.
Hackers Web Site Hacked
Famed hacker Kevin Mitnick acknowledged last week that the Web site of his computer security consulting company was hacked.
Mitnick, who spent five years in prison and three years on probation for hacking into corporate IT systems, took the incidents as a sign of respect from younger hacker wannabes. He claimed in a posting on the Web site of his company, Defensive Thinking, that his network has seen consistent and significantly more complex attacks "coming from almost every country."
Defensive Thinking emphasized that no customer information had been compromised.
Dell Unplugs $16 Billion Deal
Dell has ended a seven-year, $16 billion contract to buy hardware components from IBM and is cutting back on a $6 billion services deal.
The deals, struck in 1999, call for Dell to buy everything from disk drives and chips to flat-panel monitors. Since then, IBM has sold several of the businesses that make these components. For example, IBM last summer sold its hard drive business to Hitachi for $2 billion.
Dell said it will no longer proactively offer IBM services but will offer them at the request of a customer.
A Dell spokesman last week said that the relationship ended over time and that there was no disruption in the computer makers supply chain.
IBM said Dells decision will have little financial impact on the company.